Cafeteria delays mean students will eat lunch at their desks for 10 weeks

Desert Wind Middle School students won’t have to go far for lunch this year.

That is because the district will be delivering them lunch at their desks.

The cafeteria for the Desert Wind Middle School will not be completed in time for the start of the 2008-2009 school year.

In order to compensate for this lack of a cafeteria the school will be busing food in from one of the nearby schools and serving it to students in classrooms.

“We had hoped to have the cafeteria ready for the start of the school year, but it didn’t happen,” said Tom Beckett director of public relations for the district.

The school is hoping to have the cafeteria completed by October, so students should be eating at their desks for no more than 10 weeks.

“We are hoping to get the cafeteria completed sooner than October,” Beckett said.

However, the district will need to hire seven temporary workers to help supervise the students while they eat. Teachers are required to have a 30-minute lunch break so we will need to hire someone else to supervise the students during that time.

Before these temporary helpers can be hired the Maricopa Unified Governing School Board must approve the positions.

The board is scheduled to vote on the matter at the July 30 board meeting.

If you go:
What: School Board Meeting
Where: Pima Butte Elementary, 42202 West Rancho El Dorado
When: 6 p.m. July 30

File photo